Moon Over Neptune
by Bob Lobster
Summary: Ranma/Sailor Moon Crossover - The Moon Princess is dead but is that the end, or the beginning of someone else's story?
1. Prologue

Moon Over Neptune  
A Ranma/Sailor Moon Crossover  
By: Bob Lobster  
  
Disclaimer: I own pretty much nothing in this story. If I did own any  
of this, I'd be filthy rich and wouldn't be struggling to pay rent.  
  
Note: This story was written for the Ranma/Sailormoon crossover   
generator challenge. If you wish to check the challenge out or see more   
stories written for it(or vote for me^_^) it's at   
http://www.beeftrapeze.com/challenge   
Enjoy^_^  
  
Poem: Fickle Fortune  
Poet: Robert Burns(1759-1796)  
Published: 1782  
  
Though fickle Fortune has deceived me,  
She pormis'd fair and perform'd but ill;  
Of mistress, friends, and wealth bereav'd me,  
Yet I bear a heart shall support me still.  
  
I'll act with prudence as far's I'm able,  
But if success I must never find,  
Then come misfortune, I bid thee welcome,  
I'll meet thee with an undaunted mind.  
  
  
  
  
  
Prologue  
  
She was dying. Silent tears fell from her face as she held the  
child tightly to her bosom. She knew that she was dying, her injuries  
were far too severe for even her to survive. Her only consolations  
were that her wounds no longer hurt as much as they had, and that her  
child was still safe. Looking down on him, she was surprised to find  
him still sleeping peacefully, despite the din of battle that was  
prevalent in the area. He always had slept heavily though, not waking  
in the night as often as most children. She cried, thinking of all  
that would happen to him, now that she would no longer be there to  
protect him.  
  
"Your Majesty!" Cried someone from the door to her chamber, and  
she raised her eyes to see the form of her long time friend. Setsuna  
was standing in the doorway, breathing heavily and looking the worse  
for wear, but also seeming relieved to have found her. "Michiru-sama,  
are you alright?"  
  
Michiru smiled sadly as Setsuna made her way towards her, leaning  
heavily on her staff as she came. She could see small pools of blood  
forming wherever Setsuna stopped and knew that the Senshi of time was  
just as badly injured as she. Looking into the pained, yet determined  
face of her oldest friend and guardian, Michiru knew what must be  
done.  
  
"No, my friend," She said softly, finding it more and more  
difficult to speak as time went on, "I'm dying. I know that, and I  
grieve, for I know not who will care for my baby."  
  
"No! You won't die, Michiru, you can't." Setsuna practically  
pleaded, knowing it was useless, but desperate for her Queen and  
friend to survive.  
  
"I'm strong, Setsuna....but not that strong. Even I can't....hold  
off the inevitable." Her eyes were shimmering again, and she could see  
Setsuna holding back tears as well, even as she fell to her knees  
before Michiru. With her child in the crook of one elbow, she raised  
her other hand up and slowly caressed her friend's cheek. A smear of  
red streaked across Setsuna's face where Michiru's fingers passed but  
neither seemed to notice as Setsuna took her Queens hand in her own,  
tears freely flowing now. "You've done so much for me, Setsuna, but I  
have......just one more thing to ask."  
  
"Please, Michiru....anything, but please, we have to get you some  
help. You'll be alright if we can just..." Setsuna couldn't even  
finish the sentence, as she knew there was nothing that could be done  
for her queen. There was no help to be had. The few remaining Senshi  
were fighting a losing battle, and slowly the forces were pushing back  
to the queen's chamber. The King was dead, and Saturn as well, leaving  
no healers with power enough to repair the damage done to her friend's  
body. This, in turn, also left but one heir to the throne, that being  
the child held in Michiru's arms, a child the enemy would do anything  
to be rid of. Setsuna knew as well as Michiru did that this was the  
end, for all of them.  
  
"Setsuna....please...make sure my baby is safe. If...if I know  
he's safe....I can be at peace. Please....promise me you'll protect  
him." The pleading look on her face was almost more than Setsuna could  
bear, but she held herself stoically, as suited her queen's final  
moments. Though tears still streamed from her eyes, she kept her  
expression as firm as possible and nodded once to Michiru's request.  
  
"I promise you. No harm will come to him so long as I have breath.  
I will find him a place where he can be safe and happy. I promise."  
Michiru's eyes filled once more with tears, as she knew that her child  
would be safe. She kissed the baby once on the forehead, leaving a  
bloody mark on his head, before leaning her head back and closing her  
eyes.  
  
"Goodbye, my child." She said, in a soft, gasping voice. "Goodbye,  
little Ranma." And then the queen spoke no more and all breath left  
her body. Setsuna wept openly then and, placing a final kiss upon her  
fallen queen's brow, she took the child in her arms and struggled to  
rise. She knew that she had very little time left before the injuries  
she had suffered sent her after her Queen into the next world, but she  
was determined to honour her promise before she passed. Leaning  
heavily against her staff, the child in her arms almost too heavy a  
burden for her tired body to carry, Setsuna summoned a portal to the  
gates of time that were her charge and staggered through. She knew  
that Ranma would have no peace in the time and place from whence he  
came, her only hope was to find a time and place where he would. Time,  
however, was not on her side, and so she had to trust someone else to  
complete this task for her. She therefore turned to the one person she  
knew she could trust in such a matter: herself.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
Setsuna Meiou was having a positively horrible day. It wasn't the  
worst day of her life, that being the day the Moon Kingdom fell, but  
it did manage a close second. Today was the day all her hard work went  
up in smoke. She sat down on the chair she had set up in front of the  
time gates and silently mourned the lose of not only her dream, but of  
the child who never had a real chance to live. Usagi Tsuninko was  
dead. Still born, dead before she even had time to see the light of a  
single day. Setsuna watched as the mother cried over the loss of her  
daughter and silently wept over the death of everything she'd worked  
for. Without Usagi there was no Sailor Moon, without Sailor Moon there  
was no Ginzuishou, and without the Ginzuishou, there was no hope for  
the future. Just as she felt the urge to curl up and allow life to  
leave her, however, her eyes were drawn to a quickly forming portal  
off to her side. Leaping to her feet, Setsuna leveled her staff at the  
possible new threat. She almost dropped said staff, however, when she  
saw who passed through it.  
  
The woman was obviously her, but at the same time obviously  
wasn't. She had a feeling that only someone as well aquatinted with  
temporal and dimensional travel as Setsuna was could detect. She had  
an aura about her that absolutely screamed 'I'm out of place! This  
isn't my world!' It was the aura of someone who didn't belong in your  
plane of existence and Setsuna immediately knew that this woman was  
another dimension's analogy of her.  
  
Once the woman's identity was determined, Setsuna raced to her  
side, catching her counterpart as she fell towards the floor. As she  
helped the injured Pluto to the chair which she had only just vacated,  
Setsuna allowed herself to take in the woman's injuries and realized  
with some sadness that they were quite serious and more than likely  
fatal. The woman was bleeding from multiple wounds and from her  
extremely pale complication had no doubt lost a great deal of blood.  
She seemed to be having a great deal of trouble breathing and she sat  
for a long moment just trying to regain enough breath to speak. She  
was adorned with a number of burn marks as well and part of her hair  
seemed to have been burned off of her. The bundle in her arms was  
clutched firmly, yet gently to her chest and Setsuna had a sneaking  
suspicion that she knew what the bundle was. Finally, the injured  
Pluto seemed to get ahold of herself enough to speak and looked up  
into her younger counterpart's eyes.  
  
"I.....I don't.....have much time." She managed in a ragged voice.  
It was obviously taking a great deal of effort to speak and Setsuna  
suddenly had the impression that she was keeping herself alive on  
shear willpower and her respect for her counterpart rose  
significantly. Whatever errand she was on must have been of great  
importance to put this much effort into merely surviving. "This  
child......must be cared for. Promised......my Queen.....would save  
her son. Please......find Ranma......a home. Please.....help him."  
  
Her eyes began to glaze over and Setsuna took her hand, providing  
what comfort she could to her in her final moment. She watched as the  
life left her counterpart's eyes and wondered what she was to do now.  
One part of her rejoiced, knowing that a child of Neo-Queen Serenity  
would be able to summon the Ginzuishou and take Usagi's place, perhaps  
allowing for the future she had planned to come to pass. Another part  
knew, however, that this would have to be dealt with carefully. She  
couldn't just hand the child, Ranma, over to Usagi's parents and hope  
it all worked out. For starters, only women could become Senshi, and  
Ranma was very obviously not a woman. Secondly, she really had no idea  
what Ranma's past was like, only a dying woman's last words to go on.  
It could be that this wasn't Serenity-sama's son at all. The second,  
however, was the easier of the two to resolve.  
  
First thing, she buried her counterpart. She attempted to distance  
herself from the more morbid thoughts that it was, in fact, herself  
that she was burying, but was unable to completely remove the feeling  
of strangeness that came with laying her own body to rest. After that  
was done, Setsuna went about setting up a place for Ranma to sleep and  
made sure that she had plenty of food should he awaken. Thankfully, it  
had only been an hour or so since the injured Pluto had shown up and  
he was still fast asleep, making her work that much easier. She then  
sat down and began to first trace Pluto back to her home dimension,  
before replaying enough of her past to find out what had happened to  
her and where Ranma came from.  
  
She was gladdened to see that Ranma was indeed an heir to the  
throne of the moon, meaning that he could summon the Ginzuishou. How  
it happened, however, came as quite a surprise to her. That Ranma's  
parents were not Usagi and Mamoru as she originally believed, but  
Michiru and Kenji, a male counterpart of Usagi, was a great shock to  
her system. Just seeing her princess born as a man was shocking  
enough, but to have him marry Sailor Neptune, who in her reality was  
firmly lesbian, nearly made her fall out of her chair. She remained  
seated though and watched through most of young Ranma's life, up until  
the point where he came into her care. Partway through her viewing,  
Ranma had awoken, but she found him to be extremely well-behaved and  
merely fed him and held him while watching the going-ons of his past.  
  
Once she was finished watching the past of her deceased  
counterpart, Setsuna sat back and considered what to do about her  
charge. The most obvious answer would be just to take care of him  
herself, but she ruled that out quickly. For starters, she had far too  
much of an obligation to stay in the Time Gates for the next several  
years to raise a child. With Usagi gone, things would be in flux for  
the next few years and she had to monitor it closely to avoid anything  
else going wrong and, frankly, she knew better than anyone just how  
lonely the Gates could be. As much as she would appreciate the  
company, the idea of forcing a child to grow up in a place like that  
was too much for her. Also, it would be best if he could be raised by  
someone who could teach him some martial arts, as well as a good deal  
of kindness and honour. While she was a decent fighter, she had  
nowhere near the level of confidence in her abilities to pass it on to  
someone else. Besides, she'd had the sneaking suspicion that the Gates  
had had a corrupting influence on her sense of honour over the  
millennia and she knew that someone who would be her superior had to  
above such corruption. How could he be if his chief influence was,  
herself, corrupted?  
  
This all led to the obvious conclusion that she needed to get him  
adopted. This led to a whole new set of complications. First off, he  
needed, as she already thought of, training in fighting and a high  
sense of honour. This meant a martial artist would be preferable. He  
would need to be in the Tokyo area when everything started happening,  
around his sixteenth year, preferably in the Juuban district or one of  
the close laying regions, such as Nerima or Tomobiki. Finally, and  
probably most importantly, as much as she hated to do it to the lad,  
he needed to be a Senshi. This in itself wasn't so bad except that all  
Senshi were girls. This meant that he needed to be a she. Now Setsuna  
knew of several methods of doing this, it really wasn't that hard, but  
the most advantageous way would have to be Jusenkyo. The Cursed  
Springs would not only give him the required....equipment to become a  
Senshi, but it would also leave him the opportunity to retain some of  
his masculinity as the curses were reversible.  
  
So, essentially, Setsuna needed someone from the Tokyo area, who  
was well-versed in the martial arts, wise enough to teach him honour  
and yet stupid enough to get him cursed. She knew the perfect person.  
She just hoped Ranma could forgive her someday.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
Nodoka Saotome was ecstatic. After the tests came back she had  
feared that she would never have a child. Of course, Genma had blamed  
her, refusing to even look at the test results when she came back with  
them, but she'd read them, and she knew the truth. It came as a bit of  
a shock that Genma was sterile, but then, at least she knew it wasn't  
her fault that she couldn't conceive. Still, whether it was her fault  
or his, the fact remained that so long as her husband was shooting  
blanks she would remain without child. Now, however, she didn't need  
to. A perfect, darling baby boy had been left right on her doorstep,  
and Nodoka would be damned if she let what she saw as her last chance  
at having a child go.  
  
It was perfectly understandable, then, that she lifted the basket  
containing the child into her arms and, rather than call the police as  
she should have, she went into the house and started trying to decide  
how she would go about making him her legal son. Almost  
absentmindedly, she picked up the letter which was on top of the  
baby's blanket and, setting the basket down on the couch next to where  
she herself sat down, started to open it. Pulling the letter loose  
from the envelope she unfolded it and began to read the flowing,  
elegant script.  
  
'Dear Mrs. Saotome,  
  
I know of your recent trouble having a child and of your and your  
husband's wish for a son to pass on your values and traditions. This  
child has recently been orphaned in a violent crime which took the  
lives of both of his parents and I ask you to take care of him and  
allow him to fill in for the child that you cannot have. His name is  
Ranma, and he will grow up to be a very powerful man, one that many  
will look up to and depend on, but only with a proper family to raise  
him, something that I hope you can provide.  
  
The only condition upon your receiving Ranma as your son is that  
you agree to raise him to be a great martial artist, the true man  
among men he will need to be to survive what life will have in store  
for him. If you agree to this, put this letter back in the mailbox  
right away and ignore it for a time. At five in the afternoon check  
the mailbox again and you will find all the registration papers you  
need for Ranma to be a permanent part of your family. Should you  
disagree, leave Ranma where you found him and he will be picked up  
shortly.  
  
I apologize for the burden I've placed you under but I know,  
should you accept him, that Ranma would be raised properly with your  
family.  
  
A Friend  
  
Nodoka reread the letter several times before getting up and  
walking to the front door. There she left the letter in the mail box,  
just as it had specified, and walked back to Ranma to await both the  
promised response and her husband's return from work.  
  
While she waited, she lifted Ranma out of the basket he was in and  
held him close to her, looking him over and memorizing his features.  
He was sleeping soundly and Nodoka couldn't help but marvel at how  
beautiful a child he was. As she was holding him she noticed a small  
chain around his neck and pulled the end of it from the blanket in  
which he was wrapped. At the end of the chain was a beautifully  
wrought locket of gold and silver. Opening it up, Nodoka found two  
pictures within. One of the pictures was of a couple standing together  
with a baby in their arms. Realizing that these were Ranma's true  
parents, Nodoka examined them closely. Ranma's mother was a beautiful  
woman, tall and refined with long aquamarine hair falling loosely past  
her waist, while his father was tall, blond and handsome, a man who  
looked as if he could easily be royalty. The woman stood within her  
husband's embrace while holding Ranma within hers, and both had  
expressions of love and joy on their faces.  
  
The second picture was of a group of eight woman and two men  
standing before a beautifully ornate fountain. All of them were  
dressed formally, in gowns and tuxedo's, and Nodoka could see Ranma's  
parents were at the head of the group, seemingly the leaders of the  
group like a king and queen presiding over the lesser nobles. Ranma's  
father had his arm around Ranma's mother making it obvious that they  
were a couple when the photo was taken, along with several other  
couples including a green-haired woman with the other man and the two  
blond girls (which, although Nodoka didn't think was proper, she  
didn't overly disapprove of since, afterall, love was love regardless  
of it's form). The rest of the women formed a loose group amongst the  
couples and seemed content just to be within the company of their  
friends.  
  
Nodoka closed up the locket after a time and placed it within her  
pocket, deciding that she had best hide it when she had the chance if  
she wished for Ranma to keep it. As much as she loved her husband, and  
she did despite his many faults, she knew that anything of value would  
not remain long in his presence. He had a tendency to sell off  
anything of value to feed his various appetites and generally at much  
less than they were worth. She knew he never meant any harm by this,  
that he couldn't really help himself, but she also knew that if she  
wanted anything of even slight value to remain in her possession she  
should put it somewhere out of sight. In Genma's case 'out of sight,  
out of mind' proved to be the truth.  
  
Looking up at the clock, Nodoka noticed that it was five minutes  
past five, and so got up to check the mailbox. Within the mailbox she  
found a mass of paper work which she took back with her into the  
living room. Amongst the paperwork were a birth certificate for one  
Ranma Saotome, presently just under a year old, and legally her son by  
birth. She wasn't sure how her mysterious benefactor managed to obtain  
the documentation for something that obviously never happened, but she  
didn't complain either. They had only moved into the area in the last  
month and she had yet to really meet the neighbors so tricking them  
into believing that he was her son wouldn't be too difficult. Also  
within the mass of papers was a statement of funds in her name,  
presumably so that she could afford to raise Ranma on the measly  
salary her husband brought in. She would have to keep that from him as  
well or it would disappear rapidly in a stream of warm sake.  
  
She had just finished looking through the paperwork when Genma  
came home. Nodoka had anticipated having to fight him about keeping  
the child, set as he was on having an heir to his genes, but he agreed  
surprisingly easily. It seemed the thought of not having an heir at  
all scared him enough that he quickly agreed to anything that provided  
that heir. Nodoka didn't like the gleam that entered his eyes when he  
looked upon his new son, but she ignored that as he seemed excited at  
the opportunity to have a son to train in his art.  
  
As she lay in her bed with Ranma snuggled in her arms, Nodoka  
listened half-heartedly to her husband talking excitedly on the phone  
with his best friend. He seemed to be making plans to go drinking with  
the other man in celebration of his new son, but she ignored him as  
she drifted off, her eyes on the sleeping child in her arms and a  
contented smile on her face.  
  
To Be Continued...  
  
Author's Notes: I wasn't going to start up anything new, but I tried  
using the crossover generator once more and came up with such a  
convoluted mess that I had to give it a try. This is just the prologue  
since it's so short. I had planned on making it longer, but it came to  
such a natural stopping point that I couldn't help but stop the  
chapter. I'll try and work on getting chapter one out shortly.  
C&C can go to ranikkoku@hotmail.com and you can find my other stories  
at www.geocities.com/ranikkoku  
Thanks for reading  
Bob Lobster 


	2. Of Ponderings and Revelations

Moon Over Neptune  
A Ranma/Sailor Moon Crossover  
By: Bob Lobster  
  
Disclaimer: I own pretty much nothing in this story. If I did own any  
of this, I'd be filthy rich and wouldn't be struggling to pay rent.  
  
Note: This story was written for the Ranma/Sailormoon crossover  
generator challenge. If you wish to check the challenge out or see  
more  
stories written for it(or vote for me^_^) it's at  
www.beeftrapeze.com/challenge  
Previous chapters(all 1 of them^_^;;) can be found at  
www.geocities.com/ranikkoku  
Enjoy^_^  
  
Poem: Fickle Fortune  
Poet: Robert Burns(1759-1796)  
Published: 1782  
  
Though fickle Fortune has deceived me,  
She pormis'd fair and perform'd but ill;  
Of mistress, friends, and wealth bereav'd me,  
Yet I bear a heart shall support me still.  
  
I'll act with prudence as far's I'm able,  
But if success I must never find,  
Then come misfortune, I bid thee welcome,  
I'll meet thee with an undaunted mind.  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 1: Of Ponderings and Revelations  
  
  
Ranma sat in his room at the Tendo house, staring blankly down at  
the locket in his hand. He'd done this many times in the past and this  
time seemed no different as the familiar feelings came forth. Feelings  
of familiarity, recognition, like he should know the people in the  
pictures. He came no closer today, however, than he ever came to  
identifying the strangers that he saw. Today was different though, for  
today something important had happened that threw what he thought he  
knew out the window. Today he had met his mother.  
  
Not that his mother knew that they'd met, of course. Due to the  
stupidity of his father, he had been forced to hide from the woman  
he'd longed to know his whole life, for fear of being forced to commit  
seppuku because he couldn't live up to a promise. A promise he hadn't  
even made, but was still expected to live up to. A promise that he  
would be a 'Man Amongst Men'; something difficult to do when a quick  
splash of cold water turned him into a cute, busty, green-haired girl.  
  
The promise, however, wasn't really the problem that had Ranma  
once more staring at the locket that had been in his possession for  
longer than he could remember. The real problem was that things he had  
thought were figured out years ago, he was once more in the dark  
about. The woman in the picture obviously wasn't his mother, despite  
what the green-haired chick had hinted at, and that left Ranma  
severely confused. Had he misunderstood what she was trying to tell  
him when they had met those years ago? Sure, she hadn't come right out  
and said that the woman was his mother, and the man certainly wasn't  
Genma, but he had always half hoped that that meant that Genma really  
wasn't his father. It would certainly be promising for the future of  
his hairline at the very least. Now, however, he had met his mother,  
and it wasn't her.  
  
All this led Ranma to once more be sitting quietly, contemplating  
the woman who had been the center of his thoughts for longer than he  
could recall. So wrapped up in thoughts was he that he didn't notice  
someone enter the room until a soft hand came down on his shoulder. He  
was in a relaxed, thoughtful state of mind at the moment though, so he  
didn't start at the contact, merely looking up from the tightly-held  
locket to the worried face of the eldest Tendo daughter standing  
behind him. He smiled a bit at her, his heart warming a little to see  
such obvious concern for him on her face and waited for her to ask how  
he was, as he knew she would.  
  
"Are you all right, Ranma-kun?" She asked, returning his smile  
with one of her own, though hers was laced with worry. It was obvious  
that all of them were worried about him, and Ranma knew why, though he  
didn't feel like addressing it with them at the moment. However, since  
Kasumi had been thoughtful enough to come to make sure he was alright,  
the least he could do was assuage her worries.  
  
"I'm okay, Kasumi, I just have a lot on my mind is all." He  
replied, trying to keep his voice as uplifting as possible, while  
increasing his smile a bit. She seemed to accept that for the moment,  
although Ranma could tell that she was still concerned about him. It  
felt nice to know that someone cared that much about him and he  
unconsciously ran his thumb over the silver crescent moon engraved on  
the front of the locket. This, in turn, brought the locket to Kasumi's  
attention.  
  
"Oh my! That's a beautiful locket, Ranma." She stated, looking  
down at it. It was obviously well made, though she wondered whether it  
really was made of the gold and silver it seemed to be or if it was  
just a beautifully made fake. She couldn't help thinking that if it  
were real it would be worth a fair amount of money and, despite not  
wanting to think ill of a guest, she wondered how Ranma would have  
been able to keep it from his father. "Wherever did you get it from?"  
  
Ranma stared down at the locket for a moment, thinking back to how  
long he has had it. Sometime during his talk with Kasumi he had  
unconsciously closed it he now stared at the markings on the outside.  
He knew them by heart, able to describe every bump, every scratch  
(though there were very few), every little nuance of it by heart,  
having spent so much time with it, but he still had no memory of  
getting it in the first place. Looking back up at Kasumi's curious  
face he answered in a slightly reverent tone. "I'm not really sure,  
Kasumi, I've had it for as long as I can remember. I asked Pop about  
it once, but he wouldn't say anything, just told me it was important."  
  
"Really?" Kasumi replied, curiously. She hoped that, perhaps by  
talking about this, Ranma may open up to her a little. She had noticed  
that despite his brash attitude, he seemed very sensitive about his  
past, not talking about it much and she felt that, with the way he  
held the locket, like it was the most important thing in the world, if  
she could find out more about it, she may find out more about him.  
That was something that had always bothered Kasumi slightly, her lack  
of knowledge regarding Ranma's past. She liked to think that he was a  
friend, close to being family, but she still knew very little about  
what made him tick. She couldn't help but feel if she knew more, she  
may be able to help him better when he was feeling down, as he  
obviously was now. "Is there a picture in it?"  
  
Ranma smiled a bit before nodding the affirmative and handing the  
locket carefully over to Kasumi. Seeing how important it seemed to be  
to him, Kasumi knelt down in front of him and very gently took the  
locket, gazing at the design on the front. She had been right in her  
initial judgement, the locket was gorgeous, the gold and silver  
beautifully wrought making her upgrade her impression from fairly  
expensive to 'Nabiki would be drooling' expensive. Gently tracing her  
thumb over the design on the front, she carefully released the catch  
on the top, allowing the locket to fall open. Inside were two  
pictures, one of a couple and, presumably, their child, the other of a  
group of people, of which the couple was a part of. All of them were  
very beautiful, formally dressed in long gowns on the women and  
tuxedos on the men, though the man in the first picture wore what  
seemed to be some sort of armour. What caught her attention the most,  
however, was the hair of the woman in the first picture. Although a  
number of them had interesting coloured hair, it was the woman with  
the baby who instantly peaked Kasumi's curiosity. Her hair was a  
peculiar shade of aquamarine that Kasumi couldn't recall ever seeing  
before the rainy night when Ranma first arrived at their door, though  
for some reason it seemed strangely familiar at the same time.  
  
Looking up at Ranma, she could see him smiling at her, as if he  
knew exactly what she was thinking. She glanced back down at the  
pictures before raising her eyes to once more met Ranma's.  
  
"They're very beautiful, Ranma." She began, thinking about how to  
proceed. Ranma tended to be very closed mouth about his past and she  
didn't want to seem intrusive for fear that he would go back to  
avoiding questions. The fact that he had shown her the pictures at  
all, though, was rather encouraging, so she continued with her train  
of thought. "Who are they? The woman in this picture has the same hair  
as your girl side. Is she a relative?"  
  
Ranma shook his head a bit, looking down at the picture again  
before answering. "I'm not really sure. I figure she must be a  
relative. I talked to someone once, a few years ago, who seemed to  
know, but she refused to say. She hinted though, and I thought I had  
it figured out, but...."  
  
He trailed off for a moment, staring off into space and Kasumi  
gave him a moment, realizing he was lost in memories. After a moment,  
he shook his head and looked a bit embarrassed that he'd drifted like  
he had, but Kasumi gave him an encouraging smile before quietly saying  
what she felt he had left out. "You thought she was your mother,  
didn't you?"  
  
Ranma's expression turned a bit sad at that but he quickly covered  
it up with a smile. "Yeah, I did. Especially after Jusenkyo, that just  
seemed to clinch it for me. After all, how many people can there be  
with hair that colour?  
  
"Apparently, I was wrong though." Ranma seems to deflate a bit at  
that. He quickly managed to cover his disappointment up though,  
slipping on another semi-false smile and continuing. "But that doesn't  
matter much, I guess. I mean, mom seems like a nice person, if a bit  
odd."  
  
"You're still disappointed though, aren't you, Ranma-kun?" Though  
it was said as a question, it was obvious Kasumi already knew the  
answer. What surprised Ranma, though, was that she seemed  
understanding about it. Despite her naturally kind nature, Ranma still  
expected her to be disappointed that he felt that way about meeting  
his mother, especially since she had lost her own so long ago, but she  
seemed to accept what he felt without any real judgement. "It's  
alright to be. I know you feel guilty about it, but you had a lot of  
expectations built up. It's only natural to feel a bit of  
disappointment."  
  
Ranma smiled up at her as Kasumi laid a comforting hand on his  
shoulder. There were times he was willing to go through with the  
engagement if only to have her as his real sister, but at the same  
time, he knew she'd always treat him as a brother, whether he was or  
not.  
  
"I guess I did have some big expectations. After thinking about  
her for so long, wondering what she was like, I sort of built up a  
picture in my head, you know. How she'd come into my life, bringing  
comfort and understanding; things I didn't really get when I was  
young." Ranma sighed a bit to himself, looking down at the picture in  
Kasumi's hand. Kasumi just stayed as she was, hand on Ranma's  
shoulder, not saying anything for fear of breaking the mood. She knew  
that Ranma wasn't normally this open with his feelings, and feared  
that if she did anything to upset the mood, he would clamp up again,  
bottling his feelings up inside himself. That type of repression was  
unhealthy and Kasumi knew, with the stressful life Ranma led, that he  
really needed to confide in someone, especially after the debacle with  
his mother earlier. It took a moment before Ranma collected himself  
enough, but he eventually continued. "I guess having my real mother  
show up, only to find out she'd kill me for something I couldn't even  
control killed the image I'd built up pretty quick."  
  
Kasumi gave him a sad, but sympathetic look as he was obviously  
keeping a lot of emotions in check while talking to her. She wished he  
would let them out, even if just this once, but knew that that was  
asking more than he was capable of at the moment. Just having him talk  
to her like this was a huge step from the brash, cocky mask he  
normally kept in place and really showed how hard the meeting with his  
mother had hit him.  
  
Deciding that he needed some uplifting thoughts, as she could tell  
their conversation was about to come to a close, Kasumi put on her  
best smile before speaking. "Perhaps your first meeting didn't go as  
planned, but that doesn't mean you should give up hope, Ranma-kun.  
Even if she is a bit...odd, Auntie Nodoka does seem like a very caring  
person. And besides," She turned the locket around so the picture was  
facing Ranma before placing it in his hand, "You still have this girl,  
right? And I have a feeling she'll give you all the things you wanted  
her to."  
  
Ranma just stared down at the picture in his hand for a few  
moments, a small smile forming on his face as he considered Kasumi's  
words. He slowly closed the locket, clenching it in his hand, before  
looking up at Kasumi with a happy expression on his face. "Thanks,  
Kasumi. I...well, umm, just...just thanks."  
  
Kasumi smiled brightly before pulling herself to her feet, Ranma  
following her up. "Of course, Ranma-kun. Anytime you want to talk, I'm  
always here for you." She then turned from him and headed for the  
door, glancing back at him to see him staring at the locket again, a  
pleased expression on his face. As she left the room, Kasumi couldn't  
help but feel like she'd really helped Ranma for the first time since  
he'd shown up months ago and it made her happy knowing she'd improved  
his mood so much.  
  
Now, if only she could shake the feeling she'd seen the girl in  
the picture before.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
Kasumi Tendo was in her kitchen, cooking for her family. This, of  
course, was a normal thing, as she spent a fair amount of time in her  
kitchen, cooking for her family. Normally, however, she was a very  
focussed young lady, putting together meals with an ease that only  
comes from years of practice. This was far from how she felt tonight.  
Tonight she was feeling rather distracted, as she had for several  
nights in fact, ever since she had a conversation with a certain  
cursed young man who was staying with her family. It was nothing that  
he had said or done that caused her to be this way, mind you, it was  
more the feeling she got when she looked at the picture he had shown  
her. Kasumi knew that she had seen the woman in the picture before and  
it was bothering her to no end that she couldn't recall where she knew  
her from, something that caused her to make more mistakes in her meal  
preparation than she had in years.  
  
Strangely, very few people seemed to notice her preoccupation,  
despite the lower quality of the meals served. Nabiki noticed quite  
quickly - not at all surprising considering how observant she was -  
and had become somewhat worried as it was fairly out of character for  
Kasumi to worry about anything like she obviously had been the past  
few days. Also to notice was Ranma. This would have surprised her  
normally, as he wasn't the most observant person in the world, but she  
felt that he probably felt responsible since she had only started  
acting this way after they had spoken. She felt a bit guilty that she  
was worrying them so, but she simply couldn't get her mind off of the  
strange woman who she was so sure she should know.  
  
Kasumi was startled out of her train of thought by someone  
entering the kitchen and she put the knife she was currently using  
down in order to face them. Said person turned out to be her sister,  
Nabiki, who was standing before her with a slightly smug look on her  
face. Kasumi felt a moment's apprehension at the look, hoping that it  
didn't bode too badly for Ranma, before putting on a nice smile and  
inquiring how she could help her sister.  
  
"Well, a funny thing happened today. Seems one of the people that  
owe me money didn't have any on hand. He offered me something else in  
it place, but to tell you the truth, I don't really know what to do  
with it. I thought you might be able to help me with it." She gave  
Kasumi another smug look, as if she was merely playing with her,  
before digging into her school bag for a moment. Kasumi gained a  
confused look on her face, wondering what Nabiki was playing at as she  
was obviously being set up for something. Despite what people thought  
about her sister, Nabiki never manipulated Kasumi the way she did  
others and it made her wonder what her sister was doing now. She was  
about to ask when Nabiki found whatever it was she was looking for and  
brought her hands out of her bag, holding what looked like a couple of  
tickets of some sort. "As you know, I'm not much of a classical music  
fan, and he gave me these two tickets to Michiru Kaioh's concert. I  
don't know, do you think I should just throw them out?"  
  
Kasumi's eyes widened at that and, in an action that would have  
surprised most people who knew her, she squealed and rushed forward,  
pulling Nabiki into a tight hug. Nabiki, despite being one of the few  
people to ever see her react that way about anything, was still caught  
off guard by her action as her sister bowled into her in an embrace  
that would put an Amazon to shame. Kasumi pulled back a bit and  
started talking animatedly, a huge grin plastered on her face. "Oh,  
Nabiki-chan, you're the best! That concert's been sold out for weeks,  
however did you get tickets?"  
  
"Well, what can I say? I'm the best." Nabiki smiled widely as she  
handed the tickets over to her big sister. She knew that Kasumi was a  
big fan of the talented Miss Kaioh and so, when she'd heard that there  
was to be a concert she'd pulled a few strings to get the tickets.  
She'd actually had to cash in several favours and do some quick  
dealing to get the tickets from on of her classmates, but she felt it  
was definitely worth it to see the happiness on her sister's face,  
especially with the way she had been so distracted the past few days.  
She wasn't sure what had caused Kasumi to begin acting the way she  
had, though she suspected it had to do with the conversation she had  
had with Ranma a few days previous. She only hoped that a night out  
would help bring her out of whatever funk she was in. "So, who are you  
gonna bring with you to the concert?"  
  
This brought Kasumi back to earth a bit. Who could she bring,  
after all? Nabiki obviously didn't intend to go with her, their tastes  
differing rather drastically. Akane wouldn't appreciate it much  
either, as she didn't like Classical much more than Nabiki did.  
Besides which, it didn't seem proper to go to a concert such as this  
with one of her sisters. It had been so long since her last date  
though; she didn't really even know any men she could ask. The only  
guy she was even remotely close to was Doctor Tofu, and he acted far  
too strangely around her for her to consider asking him. He was a nice  
enough man, but his antics definitely wouldn't be appropriate for a  
show such as this. There was Ranma as well, of course, but it was  
hardly appropriate to invite her sister's fiancee on a da......  
  
At the thought of Ranma, her train of thought immediately derailed  
as a connection she had been struggling to make for days finally came  
together. Her eyes widened significantly and her breath caught in her  
throat momentarily as she came to the realization. She quickly excused  
herself from Nabiki, rapidly asking her to keep an eye on the pot on  
the stove for her before rushing up to her room. She practically flew  
into her bedroom, pulling open the door and heading quickly for her  
desk, above which was a corkboard, on which she had pinned up several  
momento's. Amongst the family photo's she had there, and several  
newspaper articles that she had found interesting was a picture of  
Michiru Kaioh, Kasumi's personal idol.  
  
She gasped again, seeing the picture and confirming what she  
already knew: Michiru Kaioh was a dead ringer for a younger version of  
the woman in Ranma's photo. Running a finger across the picture, she  
wondered what it meant. Was Miss Kaioh a relative of Ranma's? Perhaps  
the daughter of whomever was in the picture. Kasumi wasn't sure, but  
this certainly solved the problem of who was going with her to the  
concert. Now the only question was how they would convince Akane and  
her father that it wasn't a date.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
Ranma had been having a fairly typical day. Well, typical for him,  
anyway. It had started in the usual way: wake up, spar with his  
father, end up female and have a wonderful breakfast by Kasumi. Though  
in truth the last one was something of a worry for him since he knew  
that the breakfast wasn't up to her usual standards. He knew this was  
because she had been distracted for the past few days, something he  
suspected had to do with the talk they had had in his room the night  
his mother had visited, though he couldn't think of anything that may  
have upset her in any way.  
  
Kasumi's distraction had, in turn, caused Ranma to be a bit  
distracted, which caused him to allow Kuno a shot through his guard,  
something that hadn't happened in months. Of course, he had  
immediately pounded Kuno into the dirt after, but that hit showed just  
how distracted he had become. The thought that he was causing worry  
for someone he looked up to as the sister he had always wanted  
troubled him a good deal. He spent a fair amount of time thinking  
about it during the day, incidentally causing the teacher to leave him  
alone as it actually looked like he was working for once, as opposed  
to the sleeping he usually did in class.  
  
He managed to get through most of the day without trouble, but his  
distraction led him to ignore Akane's attempts to speak with him on  
the way home from class, which led to where he was now, walking into  
the Tendo home attempting to convince Akane that he wasn't ignoring  
her while trying his best not to antagonize her further. As they both  
removed their shoes, however, they noticed Kasumi standing before  
them. They both immediately stopped talking, since she rarely ever met  
them at the door.  
  
"Ranma-kun, do you mind if I talk to you for a few moments?"  
Kasumi inquired politely, but with a sense of great importance to her  
words. Ranma immediately wondered if her wanting to talk to him had to  
do with the reason she had been so out of it the past few days and  
nodded to her request, a curious and slightly confused look on his  
face. It was Akane, however, who actually spoke up.  
  
"What's up, Kasumi?" She asked, curious what her eldest sister  
wanted with them. Whatever she wished to talk about had to be directed  
at the two of them, of course, since Kasumi rarely spoke with Ranma  
about anything that didn't involve both of them.  
  
"Oh, I just need to speak with Ranma privately for a few moments,  
if that's alright, Akane-chan." Akane blinked in confusion at that but  
accepted it. If any other girl had made the request she would have  
immediately been suspicious, but she trusted her big sister  
implicitly. Besides, her birthday was coming up pretty soon, so  
perhaps they were going to talk about her present. Smiling at Kasumi,  
she nodded and stated that she would be in the dojo before heading out  
to get some practice in. Kasumi waited until she was gone before  
looking back at Ranma and continuing. "Would you mind coming with me  
Ranma-kun? I wish to show you something."  
  
"Umm, sure thing Kasumi, lead the way." Kasumi nodded and headed  
up the stairs towards her room, Ranma following closely behind her.  
She led him up the stairs and opened her door, motioning for him to  
enter. After he had, she followed him in, closing the door behind her.  
She turned towards Ranma and waited a moment as he looked around a  
bit, this being his first time in her room. His attention was captured  
by one of her posters and she was somewhat surprised to see what had  
caught his eye.  
  
"You like it, Ranma-kun?" She asked as he focused on the print on  
her wall. It was one of Kasumi's favorites, actually. The colours were  
blended so beautifully that she could admire it for hours.  
  
"It's beautiful. It's Monet, ain't it?" Ranma responded, nearly  
causing her to fall over in shock. The painter in question was well  
known and, as with all his work, the picture in question was rather  
easy to decern as one of his but for Ranma, uneducated as he was, to  
know it was nothing short of astounding.  
  
"That's right, Ranma, however did you know?" Ranma glanced over at  
her before blushing slightly in embarrassment. Scratching the back of  
his head, under his pigtail, in a show of nervousness that he always  
did when confronted by something he considered embarrassing, he  
answered her in a slightly hesitant voice.  
  
"Well, back in junior high, we had to take an art class." He began  
before turning back towards the picture. Kasumi was actually a bit  
surprised that he was opening up to her again and wondered if this  
meant that it was going to become something that happened more often.  
She hoped so, Ranma kept things far too bottled up for it to be  
healthy. "It was back when me and Ryoga were still in school together.  
They gave us a choice of either art or home ec. Since I cooked most of  
the meals for me and pop, and Ryoga always cooked for himself, we both  
ended up taking the art course.  
  
"It was actually a lot of fun, although I wasn't really any good  
at it. Ryoga turned out to be really good at drawing, but I guess he  
did it a lot when he was on the road. I wonder if he still does." He  
seemed to get lost in thought for a few moments then, his eyes going  
distant for a moment and a small, contented smile forming on his face  
as he thought back over happier days. "I really liked painting, so the  
teacher had me studying different artists. Monet is one of the only  
ones I really remember, cause he was my favorite, and it's pretty easy  
to recognize his pictures when you see them. That's how I could tell  
this was one of his."  
  
"How come you don't paint anymore, if you enjoyed it, Ranma-kun?"  
Kasumi asked, though she had a feeling she knew the answer already.  
  
"After the class was done, pop said that I should stop doing it.  
It wasn't part of the Art afterall, so he didn't think it as  
important." Ranma seemed to sadden a bit at that thought, but he  
quickly put a smile on his face as he turned to face Kasumi once more.  
"Doesn't matter though, I wasn't too good at it anyway. So, what did  
you want to show me in here, Kasumi?"  
  
Kasumi headed over to her desk and picked up the picture she had  
laid out on it earlier. Sitting down on the chair she motioned to  
Ranma to sit as well, waiting until he was comfortably seated on her  
bed before beginning.  
  
"As you've probably noticed, I've been a bit distracted ever since  
our talk the other day." Seeing Ranma immediately nod confirmed to her  
that he had in fact noticed, and seeing the slightly saddened look on  
his face also confirmed that he had blamed himself. "Don't worry  
though, I wasn't upset or anything, I merely had some thinking to do.  
You see, when I saw the picture in your pendant, I immediately felt  
like I recognized the woman in it. That's what has been bothering me  
the past few days is that I couldn't figure out who it was."  
  
Seeing the look of desperate hope that crossed Ranma's face almost  
broke Kasumi's heart. He may try to hide it, but she knew that he  
really needed for this to work out. She truly hoped that this didn't  
turn out to be a coincidence. Though with Ranma's life as it was, she  
had trouble believing that anything was truly coincidental for him.  
"Well, earlier today Nabiki brought home some tickets that someone had  
given her to a concert by a classical musician named Michiru Kaioh,  
who happens to be one of my personal favorites. She knew this, of  
course, and planned on giving me the tickets so I could see the show,  
but when she did it finally reminded me of where I knew the woman in  
your picture from."  
  
Ranma looked at her confusedly before asking the question on the  
forefront of his mind. "I don't get it. What does my picture have to  
do with some musician?"  
  
"You see, Ranma-kun, this is Michiru Kaioh." With a smile, she  
held out the picture in her hand for Ranma to take. He did so with a  
bit of apprehension, not knowing what to expect. Whatever he had  
expected, however, was not what he was presented with. The instant he  
laid eyes on the picture his breath caught in his throat. It was her.  
It took a few moments for him to come to his senses enough to realize  
that the woman he was looking at now was obviously far too young to be  
the woman in the picture he had, but the resemblance was uncanny none  
the less. Looking up at Kasumi, the confusion was obvious on his face,  
so much so that she answered his question before he even asked it.  
"It's obviously not the same person, Miss Kaioh is only my age  
afterall, but the resemblance is uncanny. They must be related  
somehow."  
  
Ranma stared at Kasumi for a few moments, his face a mix of  
excitement and apprehension. It was obvious that being this close to  
solving a mystery that had plagued his life for so long left him  
somewhat worried about what may happen. He looked back down at the  
picture in his hand once more, his eyes going over every detail as he  
seemed to think things through before he spoke up again. "The question  
is, how are they related? And how can I find her to talk to her?"  
  
"The first one I can't help you with, Ranma-kun, but for the  
second one," Kasumi smiled serenely, holding up a pair of tickets in  
her right hand. "How would you like to go to a concert with me?"  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
Michiru Kaioh sat on the small love seat in the living room of her  
family house. Next to her, on the small end table, a cup of tea sat  
cooling as she fiddled nervously with the violin on her lap. She  
muttered a small curse to herself when, after testing it, one of the  
strings came up off-tune, before going back to attempting to tune it.  
She quickly put the instrument down, though, as she found herself far  
too nervous to effectively tune it. Laying it on the coffee table in  
front of her, Michiru took a sip of her tea before putting the cup  
back down and leaning her head against the back of the love seat.  
  
Running a hand through her long, aquamarine hair, Michiru sighed  
to herself as she attempted to calm her nerves. She closed her eyes  
and took several deep breaths. She wasn't even really sure why she was  
as nervous as she was, she just couldn't seem to calm down. This  
certainly wasn't the first concert Michiru had ever preformed, and no  
doubt it wouldn't be the last. It wasn't even the hardest, really, as  
the pieces she would be playing were relatively easy. No, the concert  
couldn't be the reason for her unease, but what could be causing it.  
  
She was brought out of her reverie when a pair of arms wrapped  
around her from behind, the soft face of her lover pressing against  
the side of her head. She brought her arms up, one hand intertwining  
with one of the hands of the person holding her while the other ran  
through her lover's short hair. She felt her lover's breathe hot  
against her neck and held in a moan of pleasure at the sensation. She  
turned her head and placed a soft kiss on the waiting lips of the  
woman behind her, savouring the feelings assaulting her senses for a  
moment before pulling back and opening her eyes to look into the blue-  
green eyes of her lover. Sensing her unease somewhat, Haruka pulled  
her into a tighter embrace and just held her for a few moments before  
speaking up.  
  
"What's the matter, love? You seem nervous." Michiru smiled a bit  
at the worry in Haruka's voice and the gentleness she used when  
holding her. People tended to think that she wouldn't know how to be  
gentle, given her rough exterior, but Haruka was never anything but  
soft when she held Michiru like that, something that Michiru loved  
about her. "You're not usually this nervous before a show, especially  
since it's not till tomorrow. Are you feeling alright?"  
  
"I'm fine, dear. I'm just..." She trailed off, trying to find a  
way to describe the way she felt. It was like a buzzing in the back of  
her senses, like a vague feeling of, not danger, but change. Like  
something big was about to happen and it would affect them all  
greatly. She shivered slightly and Haruka pulled her tighter into her  
embrace. Michiru took a deep breath before attempting to explain her  
feeling to her lover. "I just feel like something is going to happen.  
Something big. Not necessarily bad, just big. It feels the way it felt  
before Setsuna came to us for help, like something huge was about to  
occur and it would change my whole life. I don't know, I guess I'm not  
making much sense."  
  
Michiru sighed lightly, frustrated at her inability to describe  
the feeling she was getting, and leaned back so her head was resting  
on Haruka's shoulder. Haruka kissed her lightly on the neck, making  
her purr in pleasure, before speaking up again. "No, it makes sense to  
me. I've been having weird feelings for the past few days as well. It  
hasn't been very strong, just a gnawing feeling that something was  
gonna happen."  
  
Michiru smiled at that. At least, if Haruka was feeling the same,  
then she knew she wasn't simply crazy. She figured it was probably a  
Senshi thing. That would explain why Haruka was feeling it as well.  
They were both fairly new to the whole superhero deal and didn't  
really know what to expect, especially since, according to Setsuna  
they weren't even supposed to be active yet. Perhaps, since they had  
been called early, so to speak, their powers were messed up or  
something and that was giving them these feelings. It was all rather  
confusing to her, this Sailor Senshi business. They didn't have much  
in the way of memories from their past lives but what they had seemed  
to confirm the things Setsuna had told them, which was comforting. She  
found it strange, though, that even with the extra help she and Haruka  
provided, the Senshi were still only barely holding their ground  
against the enemy, led by the dark General Jedite. Setsuna had said  
that one of the Inner Senshi was missing, supposedly their leader, and  
that was where the difference lay, but Michiru couldn't help but  
wonder how one person could make the difference that both of them  
couldn't.  
  
That was a worry for another day, though. Right now, she couldn't  
do anything about either the missing Senshi or the strange feeling she  
was having, so her best bet was to just ignore them both for the  
moment and try to relax. She didn't want to be too tense for her  
concert tomorrow, afterall. Thus decided that stress relief was in  
order, Michiru turned her head and once more captured her lover's lips  
with her own. While Haruka was distracted, Michiru wrapped her arms  
around her neck and pulled her lover down on top of her, eliciting a  
startled yelp from Haruka.  
  
*Yes, a little stress relief is definitely in order.* She thought  
to herself as she allowed her hands to wander down her lover's form,  
deepening the kiss and allowing herself to get lost in the moment.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
The sun was shining brightly, there wasn't a cloud in the sky and  
the local junior high school students were taking full advantage of  
it. It was lunchtime, and so all the students were sitting outside,  
enjoying the weather, or using the school fields to partake in any  
number of different sports. As was usual for lunch at Juuban Junior  
High, the large tree that dominated the view in the front of the  
school was claimed by three students that spend nearly every lunch  
hour there. The third of the group, a small girl with short blue hair,  
had just sat down, joining her companions, a tall brunette and a  
pretty blonde. They greeted her warmly as she sat and then the blonde  
turned her attention to the question she had wanted to ask all  
morning.  
  
"So, Ami-chan, did you get the tickets for tonight?" The brunette  
also awaited the answer as the smallest girl, Ami, smiled at them and  
reached into her bag. When she brought her hand back out, she held  
four tickets in it.  
  
"Was there ever any doubt Mina-chan?" Ami returned, waving the  
tickets at them. The brunette just smirked and answered for Minako.  
  
"Of course not, Ami-chan, we all trusted Michiru-san to deliver."  
She smiled a bit at her friend, before her smile turned slightly evil.  
"It was your ability to get them from her to us that we wondered  
about."  
  
Ami held her hand to her forehead, sighing dramatically and making  
like she was going to swoon. She spoke up in a put upon voice. "You  
wound me, Makoto-chan. And here I thought you trusted me." She sighed  
heavily once more, turning her head away as if to hide tears. The mood  
was quickly broken, however, as she failed to hide her giggles, which  
in turn got the other two going as well, leaving all three rather  
breathless once they had regained control. Once they could breath  
properly again, the three settled in, wiping tears from their eyes and  
began to eat their lunches.  
  
"So, Michiru-san dropped the tickets off at your place last  
night?" Minako asked as they ate their meals, breaking the comfortable  
silence that had fallen over them. All three of them were looking  
forward to the upcoming concert, and Minako had secretly worried that  
Michiru would forget to deliver the promised tickets, despite the  
trust she had for the older girl. They had only really known the two  
older girls for a couple months, afterall, and barely saw them outside  
of fights so it was hard to know how trustworthy they were in anything  
less than a life and death situation. It was nice to know that she  
kept her word at least.  
  
Ami glanced up from her food, taking a few moments to finish the  
morsel she had in her mouth before answering. "Actually, Haruka-san  
came by to drop them off. She said that Michiru-san was helping set up  
for the concert and asked her to."  
  
"Ahh." Minako replied, thinking to herself for a few moments as  
she absentmindedly munched on some pickled radishes from her bento.  
They fell into another silence as they continued to eat their lunches,  
each thinking about the evening coming up. Once they'd all finished  
eating and had cleaned up their respective messes, Minako decided to  
shift the conversation to the more interesting aspects of the evening.  
"So, have you girls gotten your dresses yet? We have to impress any  
guys we come across, afterall."  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
Setsuna Meiou sat in her living room, deep in thought as she  
sipped absently at the cup of Earl Grey Tea she held loosely. She had  
spent most of the morning in the Time Gates, making sure nothing  
unexpected came along to ruin her carefully constructed plans. It was  
a very easy thing to happen afterall, where Ranma Saotome was  
involved. Or, more specifically, his supposed father, Genma. It was  
almost scary the way the man attracted chaos, something she hadn't  
realized about him when she had picked him to take care of Ranma. In  
her defense, though, she realized now that whatever it was about him  
that attracted such huge quantities of disorder had been steadily  
growing over the years, so hadn't been apparent when she had first  
seen him. On the upside, that very same chaos had put Ranma in enough  
weird situations to make him more powerful than she thought a human  
could be. When he was boasted by magic, he would be nearly  
unstoppable. Of course, Setsuna could have easily lived without the  
Neko-ken complicating things, but hey, even she couldn't predict  
everything. She had made sure to minimize the damage as much as  
possible, though, by making sure Ranma had stumbled on the old lady  
that had brought him out of it.  
  
Now, however, wasn't time for contemplations on the past or  
questions of what could have been. Now was the time for action. She  
stood up, lifting her empty teacup and walking calmly into the  
kitchen. After washing it and putting it away, Setsuna turned and  
headed towards the bathroom area of her large apartment. It was time  
to get ready for the concert.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
As he wandered down the stairs, Ranma considered, not for the  
first time, merely leaping from his window rather than making his way  
out the front door. Had he been going alone, there would have been no  
question as to which way he would have gone. With Kasumi with him,  
however, he felt it best to stick with the more traditional method  
over the most expedient. Knowing that didn't help much, though, when  
he thought about the people that would be watching them go, or trying  
to stop them from going. He was only lucky he had managed to talk with  
Shampoo and Ukyo before hand, making sure they both knew that it  
wasn't really a date, just two friends enjoying a concert. Truthfully,  
had he been going with anyone except Kasumi, he had no doubt they  
would try to interfere regardless of his reassurances, but they both  
seemed to respect the older girl somewhat. Besides which, as jealous  
as the two could get neither really considered Kasumi as anything but  
'the nice girl who cooks for the Tendos'. Once Ranma had told them  
that this was more of a day off for Kasumi than anything else, they  
readily agreed that she deserved it. They were both professional  
cooks, afterall, and so knew how stressful it could get doing it  
everyday.  
  
Not having them to worry about left him with only the more  
immediate problem of the immediate family. Ranma somewhat regretted  
not having dealt with them earlier, but knew that the sooner he told  
them about this night, the more time their idiot fathers would have  
had to come up with a way to use it to their advantage. This, of  
course, led Kasumi and himself to informing the rest of the family  
until the morning of the concert itself. Nabiki knew ahead of time, of  
course, as she had pestered Kasumi into telling her who she was  
taking, but the other three had only found out that morning. It had  
surprised Nabiki a bit to find out who she was taking, she hadn't  
realized that Ranma liked classical at all, but she quickly decided  
that for once she would help with the damage control. She had wanted  
the night to be enjoyable to her sister, afterall, and that could  
hardly happen if Ranma's usual problems followed them. She was  
surprised again when Ranma had told her he would handle the fiancees  
himself but as a precaution she still got a couple of girls to keep an  
eye on both the Nekohanten and Ucchan's, just in case they broke their  
words. She had even managed to talk to Ryoga ahead of time, more by  
luck than purpose as she had bumped into him outside the school, and  
had explained the situation to him. It would hardly do to have him  
attack Ranma on some half-baked idea that Akane was being cheated on.  
  
Ranma shook his head a bit to clear it before taking a deep breath  
and walking down the stairs into the main room. He glanced around  
once, taking in all the present players and noting that Kasumi wasn't  
there yet, most likely still getting ready. Everyone glanced at him  
before reacting in ways that managed to surprise him slightly. Soun  
looked disapprovingly at him before turning back to his game of shogi.  
His father barely seemed to even notice him, giving him an appraising  
glance, as if checking to see if he was dressed well enough, before  
also looking back towards the game. If Ranma hadn't known better, he  
would have sworn he saw a proud look on his father's face, but it was  
gone so quickly he felt he must have mistaken it.  
  
He looked over in Akane's direction only to see her looking at him  
from her place by the TV, a deep frown adorning her face. She had P-  
chan in her lap but for once the pig wasn't glaring at him as he  
usually did. Instead he held a fairly neutral look on his face,  
content in the knowledge that Ranma was merely doing a good deed for  
someone who more than deserved it. In some ways, Ryoga was actually  
pretty glad that he had run across Nabiki when he had. Though he would  
never admit it to anyone, he knew that he tended to jump to  
conclusions around Ranma, something that struck him as odd since,  
though it did happen, it didn't happen nearly as often when they were  
younger. He sometimes wondered if there were something in the area  
that caused him to act so irrationally. Whatever it was, though, he  
really would have felt guilty about ruining what should be a nice  
evening out for Kasumi, someone who always treated him so nicely  
causing him to think very highly of her.  
  
Breaking eye contact with both Akane and Ryoga, Ranma made his  
way over to the table and was about to sit when he saw Nabiki walking  
calmly down the stairs, a happy smile on her face. When he came within  
her sight, she gave him an appraising look, scanning him up and down  
as if looking for flaws before smiling once more at him. "Looking  
good, Saotome." She stated, a sparkle in her eyes. She made a point of  
looking him over again, this time more slowly, as if he were a piece  
of choice steak as opposed to a person, before continuing. "You clean  
up quite nicely when you want to."  
  
"Umm, thanks, Nabiki." He glanced down at himself, making sure his  
clothing was all still in its proper place. He was wearing some  
clothing that Nabiki had brought him out shopping for specifically for  
this evening. Once she had found out that Ranma was going with Kasumi  
she had insisted on making sure he was properly attired. Though she  
had allowed that a tuxedo wasn't necessary, regardless of how much she  
thought it would look good on him, she had gotten him, with the  
promise he would pay her back when he could, some black, dress pants,  
a rather nice royal blue, silk dress shirt, which she insisted brought  
out his eyes, and a black tie. The last of which, Ranma was of the  
opinion, was designed for the sole purpose of leaving the man to short  
of breath to say anything stupid but he had to admit that it did look  
good on him. Not that he would look bad in anything, in his opinion,  
but he looked especially good dressed up like he was. His new apparel  
was topped off with a pair of black, dress shoes and a jacket to go  
with it all and had set Ranma back enough that he would need to get a  
part time job for a while to pay Nabiki back what he owed her. Still,  
if it made the evening better for Kasumi and helped him get closer to  
his goal of uncovering the secrets in his life, he thought it was  
definitely worth the trouble. "Is Kasumi about ready to go?"  
  
"Actually, she is ready, she's just awaiting my cue for her  
dramatic entrance. Gotta do it right, you know." Nabiki giggled a bit  
at this before straightening her face into a serious look. She walked  
to the center of the room, quickly drawing everyone's attention before  
speaking again in a tone that would make one think she was introducing  
royalty. "Ladies and gentlemen, presenting: The lovely Kasumi." She  
held her hand out towards the stairs and waited dramatically. And then  
waited a little longer. And a little longer after that. Finally, fed  
up with waiting, she turned and quickly walked towards the stairs,  
stepping out of sight. Ranma sweatdropped as he could hear her  
exasperated tone in the background. "That was your cue, Kasumi. You  
were supposed to come out and impress everyone."  
  
"But, is it alright, Nabiki-chan? I mean, do I look alright? Is my  
dress alright?" Ranma smirked a bit at hearing Nabiki's deep sigh, but  
waited where he was, knowing she'd coax Kasumi down quickly, despite  
her embarrassment.  
  
"You look great, Kasumi-chan. You look perfect. Now common."  
Nabiki soon re-entered Ranma's sight, dragging a slightly flustered  
Kasumi behind her. Ranma's eyes widened slightly before he got his  
surprise under control and a warm smile graced his lips. In the  
background he could here three simultaneous gasps and the surprised,  
and slightly awed, "Bwee" of a small pig. On reaching the bottom of  
the stairs, Kasumi got her arm out of her sisters grasp and looked up  
at the room's occupants, immediately becoming more self-conscious at  
seeing most of them staring intently at her.  
  
Ranma looked her over and knew the reason for them reacting as  
they did; he felt like staring himself. She wore a long, formfitting  
dress of a matching colour to his shirt, no doubt Nabiki's influence.  
It covered most of her form on the front, travelling all the way to  
the floor where it fell a slight distance around her feet. At the neck  
it covered her entire throat, but left her shoulders bare, instead  
plunging down from her neck, straight under her arms. Her arms were  
clad, past the elbows a ways in long gloves the same hue as her dress  
and a thick but soft, black belt wound her waist, hanging loosely off  
her hips and clasping just below her navel. Her hair was curled in  
tiny ringlets, which sat elegantly on her head, and her dress was  
complemented with a thin golden chain that hung from her neck, a small  
sapphire attached to the end, and matching sapphire earrings adorning  
her lobes.  
  
As she turned, at Nabiki's insistence, to show off the back, Ranma  
heard at least one gasp return at the amount of skin showing. Though  
not indecent in anyway, the back showed off a fair amount more than  
anyone was used to on Kasumi. Clasping shut on the back of the neck,  
it flowed under the arms, as on the front. However, where the front  
was solid, the back was open in the shape of a large diamond  
travelling from the base of the neck to the small of the back, leaving  
a good deal of Kasumi's smooth skin in view. All in all, blushing  
prettily as she was, Kasumi had transformed from the plain, housewife-  
ish girl into a woman of such beauty that it made Ranma wonder why  
Soun didn't have men banging down his door to court his eldest  
daughter.  
  
As the people in the room continued to stare at her, Kasumi began  
to feel slightly uncomfortable, fidgeting under their gaze for a  
minute before speaking up in a hesitant voice. "Umm, does it.....do I  
look alright?"  
  
Surprisingly, it was Akane who spoke up first, forgetting for a  
moment the anger she felt about the whole situation in favour of  
Kasumi's rather stunning entrance. "Wow, Kasumi. You look incredible."  
  
Akane's comment brought everyone else out of their stunned state  
and they all rushed to pour compliments on the beautiful young woman  
before them. Soun had tears of pride in his eyes as he lamented that  
his wife wasn't present to see the beauty that their daughter had  
become. Even Genma managed a well-spoken moment when he finally  
managed to find his voice. "I've seen a lot of beautiful sights during  
my travels, Kasumi-dear, but I don't think I've ever seen anything so  
beautiful as you are now. Your mother would truly be proud of the  
woman you've become."  
  
Ranma smiled as his father's so-called 'Saotome Charm' truly came  
forth for only the third time in his memory. Kasumi merely smiled all  
the brighter, her eyes shining happily as she thanked everyone for  
their kind words. When everyone else had finished, Ranma stepped up to  
her and offered up a white rose(also Nabiki's idea) to her, quietly  
speaking to her, though everyone could hear him. "You do look really  
beautiful tonight, Kasumi."  
  
Kasumi just smiled at him, surprised he could stay so calm when he  
was normally a wreck around girls, and answered back. "You look quite  
handsome yourself, Ranma." She graciously accepted the rose, bringing  
it close to her nose in order to partake of its scent, which she found  
was as beautiful as the flower itself. She then looked back at Ranma,  
who motioned towards the door.  
  
"We should get going. The taxi should be here soon." Kasumi handed  
the rose to Nabiki, asking her to put it in water for her, before  
taking Ranma's arm and allowing him to lead her towards the door. As  
they stepped outside, heading to the taxi that sat waiting in front of  
the house, Kasumi glanced briefly at Ranma. Seeing him put so much  
effort into making the night special for her, Kasumi couldn't help  
smiling softly at him. Even if she only thought of him as a brother,  
Kasumi couldn't help feeling that tonight would be a date to remember.  
  
  
To Be Continued....  
  
Authors Notes: As noted above, this was written for the  
Ranma/Sailormoon Crossover Creator Challenge, which can be found at:  
www.beeftrapeze.com/challenge  
I wasn't going to work on this one right away, I had put my other  
stories on higher priority, but I just got the urge to write it one  
day and I've found it to be one of my easier ones to write. I don't  
really know how long a story this will end up being, but I guess I'll  
find out when I get there.^_^  
Now, obviously, Ranma's hair is a different colour in this than it is  
in cannon but as far as I know, at the moment, that's the only  
difference from cannon up until the divergence point after the first  
meeting with Nodoka.  
Any questions, comments and/or criticism is not only welcome but  
encouraged at ranikkoku@hotmail.com and you can find my other stories  
at www.geocities.com/ranikkoku  
Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it.  
Bob Lobster 


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